Cork in Portugal: the sustainable industry 

Sustainable quality products come with a cost

When thinking of Portugal, images of Lisbon, one of the world's trendiest city break destinations, or the Algarve region, where thousands of sun-hungry northerners spend their beach holidays every summer, might come to mind. You might also recall Portugal's booming housing sector, attracting private investors, retirees, and corporate investors from all over the world. Some may get closer to the subject of today's article and think of the Douro or Alentejo regions, where some of the world's finest wines are produced. However, not many consider cork production, one of the country's most significant industries.

34% of the world's cork oak forests are in Portugal 

Portugal is home to over a third of the world's cork oak forests and accounts for half of the world's cork production. Cork can only be extracted when the cork oak tree is 25 years old. Subsequent extractions occur at intervals of about 10 years, and the process can only be done between May and August. The very first harvest, known as 'virgin cork' or 'cortiça virgem' in Portuguese, usually produces poor quality cork. This first harvest is generally used for flooring, shoes, or insulation. Cork from later extractions is used for quality wine and champagne stoppers. This extensive and time-consuming process of natural cork production is the main reason for the high price of the end product.

The worldwide shortage of cork is a myth

If your last bottle of wine was sealed with a synthetic plastic or screw top stopper, you might have been told it's due to a worldwide cork shortage and reduced cork productivity for environmental reasons. In reality, there are plenty of cork trees, mainly in Portugal and Spain, providing more than sufficient cork for global demand. The real reason many wine producers now use plastic or other solutions is solely the price. While a quality cork wine stopper costs about 30 euro cents, synthetic variations only cost 5 euro cents. 

Cork: A Very Sustainable Product 

Cork is a highly sustainable product and its production is not only an industry in Portugal but also a cultural heritage. The cork oak forests are biodiversity hotspots, home to 37 species of mammals, 160 species of birds, and 25 species of reptiles. The biodiversity of Portugal's cork oak forests rivals that of the Amazon or Borneo. Cork oak forests have unique characteristics that allow for extensive absorption of CO2 from the atmosphere, helping to control erosion, regulate the water cycle, and combat desertification and global warming. 

Cork is not only used for wine stoppers

About 60% of cork production is used for wine stoppers. Cork's elasticity and near-impermeability make it an ideal material for this purpose, as it hardly changes its structure when squeezed or pulled. Due to its properties, cork is also used as a gasket material and is an essential component of badminton shuttlecocks. The air bubbles within cork make it an excellent material for thermal or acoustic insulation. Increasingly, cork is becoming a popular insulation alternative to petrochemical products, as people become more concerned about toxic elements in their living environment. For example, mixing granules of cork into concrete reduces thermal conductivity and increases thermal insulation in new homes.

We are all familiar with cork bulletin boards as well as decorative floor and wall tiles. Additionally, many decorative and souvenir items are made from Portuguese cork, such as bracelets, drink and cooking coasters, and wallets.

With sustainability being key to every modern industry, cork has a bright future

Cork is sustainable, recyclable, and reusable. It is not necessary to cut down the tree to extract its bark; the bark can be removed without damaging the tree, and it regenerates afterward. A plastic wine stopper emits 10 times more CO2 than a cork stopper, and an aluminum one emits even more—24 times as much. Follow the trend and think cork when building your new house, and when buying your next bottle of excellent Portuguese wine!